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The ships stabilizer system I think must have faulted.The internal video starts with normality then it suddenly goes hay wire . Exactly in a way lesser manner that I have experienced when the Ships stabilizers are retracted in order to safely enter harbour.

Also the ships rolling seems out off relationship to the amount off swell.

Though I could be completely wrong , perhaps some other more salty salts than me could comment.

I will in the spirit off the thread try and find something about hotels and mass food poisoning .

That Hellraiser he,s a scallywag , all right .

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"If we can find the money to kill people, we can find the money to help people ." Tony Benn

I have been on somewhere around 17 cruises (with 3 more already booked) -- I have NEVER experienced anything even remotely close to that. As others have pointed out, the size of the ships and the stabilizers make that video moot.

Oh -- why is it that the people who say cruises don't seem like a vacation at all, or are only for fat, old people HAVE NEVER BEEN ON ONE?? While it may not be everyone's cup of tea (what vacation is), I can assure you that it is no longer a vacation for the newlywed or nearly dead.Oh and to squash one more falsehood -- it isn't all about food either. You can eat well, but you certainly do not need to overeat. or overdrink for that matter -- I've been sober throughout my cruising history...... (don't even go there Jeff -- I already hear your comments.. )

I have been on somewhere around 17 cruises (with 3 more already booked) -- I have NEVER experienced anything even remotely close to that. As others have pointed out, the size of the ships and the stabilizers make that video moot.

Oh -- why is it that the people who say cruises don't seem like a vacation at all, or are only for fat, old people HAVE NEVER BEEN ON ONE?? While it may not be everyone's cup of tea (what vacation is), I can assure you that it is no longer a vacation for the newlywed or nearly dead.Oh and to squash one more falsehood -- it isn't all about food either. You can eat well, but you certainly do not need to overeat. or overdrink for that matter -- I've been sober throughout my cruising history...... (don't even go there Jeff -- I already hear your comments.. )

M

oh please, like these floating buffets are anything more than a mode to shuttle fat people from port to port.

" The monstrosity of a boat was something out of a bad 1970′s movie and the people aboard the bargain boat were nothing short ofÖto be polite-low class."

Sounds like my kind of people ! Can't wait, to go on a gay cruise, so I be be with my fellow low class gays ! Maybe even go with some fellow "HI-fivers", so that we can lower that class level a little more.

Second -- I'll take my own reviews on cruising over some media hungry malcontent.

Like I said, cruising isn't for everybody (on the sea or in the bushes, Jeffie.....), but I can't let someone who never has taken a cruise speak like he KNOWS it's bad. Try it, then I'll listen. Although, do avoid Carnival - I cruised them once, a two-day cruise to nowhere -- it was a LOOONNNGGG 2 days.

I've been on two cruises (one Carnival, one Norwegian) - Carnival was to Key West and Cozumel, while Norwegian was to Bahamas....

Enjoyed both of them.

There is so much to do on the ship, if one wants - from lounges/clubs, to restaurants, to shows, to movies, to swimming, jogging, laying out on deck and people watching, the casino, etc. The food ranges from simple to quite extravagant... Yes, you can eat basically 24 hours a day - should you choose... But, for most there is so much else to do that eating is a "side thing."

The ports of call are great because you usually get to experience a few of them and take in some of the prime sites - so, it is like multiple vacations rolled into one.

On the Bahamas trip I went parasailing - which was awesome...

They also offer site seeing excusions, diving, jet skiing, etc. (of course, for an extra charge).

I am actually watching for a trip for my mother and me to take in the next few months (after I graduate - so, probably early in May) - may go to Ocho Rios or the Cayman Islands - although, mom wants to go to San Juan... I also wouldn't mind taking one that stops in Roatan Honduras....

At any rate, I thought I would get sea sick on first one - as I was unsure of how my stomach would handle being on the water... but after the first 1/2 hour on board, I was completely comfortable.... Never had to take any motion sickness medicine and couldn't even tell that we were floating.... It's really all about the stabilizers....

Of course, I could see where there might be some swaying if the ship runs into a bad storm - but most do their best to avoid the storms.... We had some thunderstorms on one of the night's of our Cozumel trip - but I didn't notice any unusual or disturbing movement of the ship.

Bocker is right - Carnival tends to draw a bit of a louder, partying type of crowd - and because their prices are lower than the other cruise lines, there are noticeable differences in quality of food, some of the activities, and overall service.

Norwegian was great. Holland America has high ratings. Disney is superb from what I have heard (my friend and his partner have taken many Disney cruises).

Overall, a cruise ship allows one to really pack a lot into a short period of time and at a price that is usually less than what would be paid for a "land-based" vacation to the same locations that are on the ports of call.

I would very much like to take the system off ferries that sail the Norwegian coast during the summer , they are the same in design as what I imagine cruise ships to be.

Also any cruise ship that has alot off wood/Brass/ and open fires in their small Quiet lounges , absence off any gambling , and a series off talks in the evening , a cinema , allows one to take a well behaved dog and provides a area for there comfort . After 2 days a person off course would go missing and the very handsome silver Fox who has Major shares in the line begs me to help him solve the disappearance .Which off course I do , receiving his thanks in a variety off ways.

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"If we can find the money to kill people, we can find the money to help people ." Tony Benn

My parents love cruises -- in fact they are on one right now in the Caribbean. I've gone on two cruises with them, and enjoyed them because it was a trip with my parents. I was fortunate that they were cruises mostly void of young, screaming children because of the time of year and itinerary (one was a cruise of the Baltic, the other was off-season Aegean Sea -- so both had great and frequent ports-of-call and were 10 day cruises).

If I was paying for it I'd probably choose something else for a trip. I don't like being huddled with masses of people particularly, the food while not horrible isn't particularly what I would call compelling -- and that's with us sticking to the formal dining room as much as possible which I highly advise over the buffets. After dinner my parents went to shows every night while I just went back to my cabin and read a book or walked around the ship. I just had no interest in any of that stuff.

I'd rather take the money and book an wine-tasting trip in Tuscany or some part of Spain, frankly. But I think cruises are great once you are over 65 and am glad my parents go on them as it's a safe option for traveling for them, even if it means they are spending my inheritance down to nothing.

I read about that the other day and thought of you folks here who rave about cruising cruises. Makes me shudder - all I have to do is walk past someone in any stage of having a norovirus (brewing, active or recovering) and I come down with it. It's the scariest thing about winter as far as I'm concerned. (Norovirus loves winter weather conditions)

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Besides the last place I want to be is stuck on a floating petri-dish with you people, I can barely stand half of yall. At least on terra-firma i can get away from you and patronize the local bars and get accosted by twinks.

Fear mongering -- Norovirus is a risk in ANY enclosed and/or institutional like setting. It is the cause of about half of all food-borne disease outbreaks - so avoid restaurants. We just had a local hospital have a major outbreak amongst staff, so let's all avoid going to a hospital. They happen frequently in dorms - so let's not send anyone to college. hell - if one person in a family contracts it, it usually races through the whole household, so please avoid going home!!!! The news media loves to blow up the cruise ship outbreaks, yet they account for a miniscule number of cases. Great news copy, but it amounts to nothing more than fear mongering and a sense that you are safe from this illness if you don't go on a cruise.

I worked on the QE2 for 5yrs. and hit many storms on transAtlantic crossings.Being designed specifically for transAtlantic crossings, as opposed to todays ships designed for 'island hopping', stuff does still fly.On one occasion we came within 5 degrees of capsizing. Deck furniture washed overboard, broken china and glass throughout galleys and dining rooms, interior furniture, pianos etc. stacked to the ceiling.Stop lunch service, break out the beers, as for dinner, fingers crossedÖÖHard to beat the open ocean.